Rice and Sewing – A Hope for the Future

Last Thursday we had the opportunity to witness and be a small, (very small) part of a rice harvest that the children and caregivers are raising and selling. They plant and harvest by hand. Very tedious work! They currently have almost 10 acres of rice growing. The typical rice field is about 4 to 5 acres. After the harvest they sell the rice and begin the next crop. They can do this twice a year. This earns them an income and it also helps with their food supply.

The following day Sharon led a sewing class teaching some of the older girls. It was all hands on for this class. They each made a bag that they could use for some of their things. The class was a success! It was very interesting to watch the intensity of these girls working on their projects. High school girls working diligently and not giggling and gossiping was impressive to me. This is the second or third class they have had on sewing and they need more practice but I believe in the future these girls could make items to sale for income!

There are a couple of significant things happening with the rice and the sewing class. First thing of significance is the breaking of the welfare dependency on handouts. That’s no small task to change a group of people’s way of thinking and believing. It also gives these children a new hope for their future!

Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 23:18